


Worthy of an heir

by Naji_Dragonchild



Series: There once was in a kingdom far, far away... [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Autumn, But in bad, Everyone Is Gay, Fae & Fairies, Gay Disaster Deceit | Janus Sanders, Kinda, Mercenaries, Minor Character Death, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, People Watching, Prince Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Prince Deceit | Janus Sanders, Sibling Bonding, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26627902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naji_Dragonchild/pseuds/Naji_Dragonchild
Summary: As the crown prince Janus always expected to one day be crowned king, when his father died.He just hadn't thought it'd happen so soon and out of the blue.And then his little brother, Virgil, disappears in the middle of the night with all clues pointing at fae...
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Original Character(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: There once was in a kingdom far, far away... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937101
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Janus is a rich gay bastard.

Janus hated his mother.

Perhaps 'hate' was too strong a word, especially on the days she took him on rides out into the country side, just the two of them, and they had a picnic somewhere far away from other people, just to enjoy the sunshine and the sweet breeze.  
On those days he definitely didn't hate her. On those days he loved her.

But unfortunately those days were the rare ones.

Most days he was trapped.

Trapped behind he great stone walls of the castle, forced to study the history, economy, etiquette and geography of the kingdom and its neighbouring countries.  
All the things he needed to know as the eldest prince and heir to the throne.

On those days he... didn't exactly _hate_ her but she was pushy and overbearing and always acted like he was a miracle of a son.

"Wonderful!" she praised and Janus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn't that hard to know where the capital cities of the neighbour countries were and what they were called.

He felt a stare on his back and turned his head.

Virgil had crammed himself into the corner of the room with some painting supplies like always.

Janus wasn't sure if he did it to have company or to listen in on his lesson just in case Janus died before he could take the throne and the responsibility fell to Virgil.  
If it was the second option, the glares Virgil sometimes shot him made Janus wonder if he should expect a natural death or a mysterious one.

Virgil looked back down at his drawing.

Janus focused on his teacher again.

"In 735 Dekeb took over this territory and Lord Maximum retaliated by cutting off all export to them. This lead to..." he continued his monologue.

Janus began lazily to sketch the man's face at the corner of his paper.

It was more a caricature really, the hook nose too big and the eyes fallen in even further that in real life.

"That looks great," mother piped up.

Janus flinched. He had almost forgotten that she was still next to him. Of course she was watching his every move.

Eventually his teacher told him to read a text in one of the books about the topic and left.

Janus barely registered what it said,the letters blurring together before his eyes. He already knew all of it anyway.

"Mother," Virgil spoke up, suddenly next to them. He held a paper out for her, showing the painting he had made. It was a view of the southern garden with its variation of colourful flowers.

"Not now, dear," mother waved of without looking up from the letters she had received in the morning and put off reading until now.

Virgil stared down at his painting for a moment before turning on his heel and going back into the corner.

Janus forced himself to look at the text again. The sooner he finished it the sooner he could have a break.

As soon as he was done he fled from mother's watchful eyes into the gardens.

The gardener's apprentice was weeding between the flowers, shirtless in the warm noon sun and Janus climbed into a hammock to enjoy the view of the man's muscles moving underneath his tan skin.

He kicked against a tree to get the hammock to move slightly and smiled to himself.

The gardener looked up and wiped the sweat of his pretty face. His eyes landed on Janus and he hurried bowed, before giving Janus a lopsided smile and returning to his work.  
Cute.

Janus picked a ripe looking apple and bit into it. The sweet juice dripped down his chin and filled his mouth.  
Hopefully the cooks would start making apple pies soon. Or pumpkin pies. The big orange vegetables on the fields already looked delicious.

The gardener moved to another part of the garden but Janus was too comfortable to bother following him.

In the city the church bells rung twelve times. Noon.

In an hour lunch would be served and after that he'd have fencing lessons.

Until then he could just enjoy the warmth of the sun and the sweet fruits from the trees around him.

"Janus?"

With an annoyed sigh he pealed his eyes open and looked down to who had dared to disturb him.

"What do you want, Virgil?"

"Mother is looking for you," Virgil said. "She asked me to come get you."

"Why?"

"She didn't say."

Janus groaned. 

"Are you coming?" Virgil asked and Janus wondered why Mother couldn't have just send a servant.

"No, tell her I'm busy."

Virgil waited for a few moments longer as if he was waiting for Janus to say anything else or perhaps change his mind before he turned to leave again.

Janus watched him go. His tunic was too big on his small frame and his hands were balled to fists but if he was angry at being ordered around he didn't bother protesting.

As soon as he was out of sight Janus bit into his apple again.

Not even ten minutes later Virgil was back.

"She wants you to come now," he said without looking at Janus.

"Can't it wait till lunch time?" Janus threw the core of his apple at a squirrel. It dodged effortlessly.

"No, she said now."

With a huff Janus forced himself to roll out of the hammock and landed next to Virgil who flinched away from him.

"Where is she?" Janus asked.

"Drawing room," Virgil said curtly.

Janus hummed in acknowledgement and sauntered back to the castle, mourning his free time silently.  
Already back to mother smothering him.

However when he reached the drawing room mother didn't even look up.

"You wanted to see me?" Janus asked.

He noticed that her shoulders were shaking slightly and worry wrapped itself around the annoyance, strangling it.

"What's wrong? Mother? Did something happen?"

She finally turned to look at him then, tears, dark with make up, streaking her face.

"Your father - He's fallen ill," she tapped at her cheeks with a silk handkerchief. "The doctors don't know if they can save him."

Her voice was surprisingly steady. She must've stopped crying only moments ago.

"He- They think he might die!"

"What?" Janus tried to wrap his head around the news. "But- He was fine just this morning!" 

Mother buried her face in her hands.

"I know," she said, her voice heavy with emotion. "I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Janus doesn't get a chance to cope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Minor Character Death, Grief, Kidnapping(?)

By midnight the king was dead.

None of the court doctors and scholars could say what had killed him. None of them had any idea if they could've stopped it.

The funeral was held the very next day.

Mother kept her composure during the funeral procession through the city, not shedding a single tear.

Janus felt the stares on his back of the people and lower royalty and forced himself to blink back any tear that tried to fall.  
If he showed any weakness to his cousins or uncles they wouldn't hesitate to have him disappear and take over the throne in his place.

He didn't trust a single one of them with the country his father had built up from a poor unimportant group of settlements through sweat and blood and hard work. The country he had been raised in and he loved.  
They'd ruin it.  
Run it to the ground.  
Destroy everything.

So he'd grieve later.  
No matter how the sorrow howled in his chest and formed clumps in his throat, making it hard to swallow.

The high priestess spoke a prayer as they lowered father's casket into the grave. She prayed that the gods would let him find peace and watch over his people as they grieved. For them to nurture until they began to heal again.  
The last lines Janus couldn't understand.

They weren't part of the usual prayer and too many words he didn't know littered the sentences, hiding the ones he knew in their midst.

After the ceremony he fled to his room and let the door fall shut behind himself, sliding to the floor.

Father was dead.

Gone.

He'd never come back.

No more winter evenings by his side in the library, no more quick smirks thrown Janus' way at council meetings, no more proud looks from those clear, intelligent eyes, no more gossiping over the lords and ladies, no more-

No more Father.

Janus covered his mouth, pressing both his hands over it, trying to muffle the sobs he couldn't hold back anymore.  
The tears ran free now and his vision blurred.

He screamed.

For what felt like an eternity he knelt on the floor and screamed his lungs out until the tears stopped and his voice was hoarse.

His body felt heavy now. Exhausted from the breakdown. 

Stumbling Janus got to his feet and let himself fall onto his bed, hiding his face in the soft velvet covers.

He didn't want to get up again. He just wanted to stay here until it didn't hurt anymore.  
But he knew that that wouldn't be an option.

Mother would organize his coronation as quickly as possible.

It'd take her a few days at most.

A few days, then he'd be king.

The thought alone made him feel sick.

He was too young to be king.

He wasn't even old enough to drink Talleran Wel, how the hell was he supposed to run an entire country?!

He wasn't sure when he managed to fall asleep but it was restless and when he woke up he could still taste the aftertaste of a nightmare on his tongue.

Janus changed from the robe he'd worn for the funeral into a black shirt and pants and went down into the dining hall for breakfast.

Father's seat was empty and it stung in his chest.

Cecilia's face was red and splotchy from tears that had barely dried and Virgil was pushing his food around on his plate with his fork without actually eating anything.

Mother ate as usual. 

Janus wondered why, even with just her children around, she didn't show her grief.

"Cecilia, you should wash your face once you're done," she advised. "A young lady such as yourself should look presentable."

Cecilia looked like she was about to burst into tears all over.

"Janus, I need to speak to you after breakfast. Come to the library when you're done. It's about your coronation," mother carried on and left the table.

A moment later Cecilia fled, leaving Janus and Virgil behind.

For a while they just sat in silence.

"You should really eat something," Janus finally spoke up. "Or you'll be hungry later."

Virgil hummed in acknowledgement but just continued pushing his food around.

"Do you want to be king?" he suddenly asked.

Janus hesitated.

"No. I don't."

"Mhm."

Then Virgil stood up and left.

Janus watched him go and wondered why he had asked.

Once he was done eating he contemplated whether to go to the library or not.

Mother would be mad if he didn't.

With a sigh he left the dining hall and strolled through the hallways, perhaps taking a few detours on the way, until he reached the library.

He knocked, waited for a few moments and went in.

"There you are," Mother greeted him and gestured for him to sit down.

Janus barely listened as she explained the traditions surrounding a coronation. He'd heard all of them before.

Mother still didn't look sad in the slightest.

When she was finally done with her lecture Janus fled the library again. She dealt with her grief by distracting herself, he wanted to be alone.

Luckily, because for the time the entire royal family was in mourning Janus was allowed to spend the day however he wished as long as he stayed on the castle grounds.

He wandered into the gardens and sought out a nice, isolated spot, where he sat down and leaned back against a tree.

He noticed a mushroom circle a few feet away.

For a moment Janus contemplated jumping through but decided against it. In the end, being king was still better than becoming some fae's plaything.

With a sigh Janus closed his eyes.

He didn't fall asleep as he hoped instead drifting in and out for a few hours, ignoring the giggles in the woodwork that he was sure were the pixies trying to kidnap him.

They had had fae in the gardens a couple of years ago and a servant's son had disappeared before a sorcerer had managed to convince them to leave and go back to their forest.  
Either they were back or new ones had come.

Janus ignored them.

He only got up around noon when the sun got to hot and he started to become hungry. 

Janus strolled back into the castle halls and contemplated whether he could actually stomach any food right now or not.

He forced himself to eat a little before retreating to his room and not coming out for the rest of the day.

The next morning Janus was the first at breakfast even though he had purposely waited longer than usual.

A servant informed him that mother wouldn't eat with them today.

"Thanks, would you please see if my siblings are awake," he asked, dismissing them effectively.

"Of course," the servant scurried off.

Janus was sure that both Cecilia and Virgil were awake but probably didn't want to come out. 

As he had expected a few minutes later Cecilia peaked through the door and sat down in her seat next to him.

"Morning," she greeted. Her voice sounded raw from crying.

"Morning," Janus replied.

Neither wanted to say 'Good morning'. There was nothing good about it.

Suddenly the servant burst through the door.

"Your majesty, forgive my indecency but the you prince-," they broke off trying to catch their breath, "he's gone!"

Janus stood up.

"Gone?" he echoed. "What do you mean gone?"

"He's not in his rooms and the windows are wide open and-"

They didn't manage to finish before Janus ran past them towards Virgil's room.

The servant had left the door open and the windows stood open, a breeze making the curtains dance around the room like ghosts.

"Virgil?" he called. "Virgil?!"

No answer.

Janus went over to the window and froze.

Fairy rings.

Hundreds of fairy rings.

They surrounded the window, every spot around it covered by fairy rings.

Janus swore and stumbled back.

"Virgil!" he called as if somehow he was just hiding. As if he'd crawl out from behind the closet.

Janus gaze landed on his bed.

On the pillow was a single small hazel twig.

Janus wanted to scream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Janus leaves the castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: aggressive drunks, swearing

Cecilia was crying again now and occasionally Janus heard her mumble Virgil's name and could make out the words "want" and "back".

Mother was pacing through the room, stopped at a desk, tapping her fingers on the wood before pacing on.

She had spoken to a servant earlier but Janus wasn't sure what she had said, other than that messengers had been sent out. He guessed that she had asked other Lords for help.

"What do we do now?" Janus asked quietly.

Mother shook her head. 

"There's nothing we can do right now. We can only wait. I asked for help already."

Janus frowned.

"That's not true," he disagreed. "I'll head out and find him."

"You can't do that! The kingdom needs a king!" mother insisted.

Janus' frown deepened. 

"Well, good thing I'm not king yet," he hissed. "I'm the crown prince. And as the eldest, it's my duty to protect my siblings. So, I will go to the fairyland and I _will_ rescue my little brother. No matter what you say."

He stood up and stormed out of the room, without waiting for her reaction.  
He ran past a few servants, telling one to ready him a horse, and slammed his bedroom door behind himself.

Quickly he grabbed a bag, stuffed a few shirts inside, grabbed a dagger, his sword and a few other things.

Someone knocked at his door and opened it.

Janus swirled around.

Cecilia had stopped crying.

"Do you promise to bring Virgil home?" she asked, voice void of emotion.

Janus forced himself to smile at her.

"I promise. I will."

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, then she was gone again.

Janus threw his bag over his shoulder and marched out to the stables.

The servant stepped back from the horse nervously as he approached.

"Thanks," Janus told them, fixed his bag to the saddle and swung himself up.

Just as he got back out to the courtyard Mother came out of the main building.

"Janus! Stop that!" she called.

"I won't come back till I've found him!" Janus called over his shoulder and rammed his heels into the horse's stomach.

"Wait!" he heard Mother call but ignored her.

Janus only let the horse slow down again when he was far enough from the castle to be sure that she wasn't following him. She might send knights to get him back but he could avoid those.

None of them could stop him from getting his little brother back.

He wasn't sure how exactly to get to the fairy forest.

It couldn't be too hard though.

People kept stumbling in on accident after all and then never got out again, so if he managed to go in on purpose he'd also be able to find his way out again. Or at least he hoped so.

He headed east, hoping that the dark forest would come into view soon before the fae could hurt Virgil.

It was dark by the time he reached a small town. 

He wasn't sure where exactly he was or how far he'd come but he was tired and the darker it got the unsafer he felt on the road, so he decided to find a place to sleep.

He slipped off the horse's back and led it into town. There had to be an inn around here somewhere.

It didn't take him long to find a bar and he tied his horse to a post by a drinking trough.

The smell of sweat and alcohol greeted him as he went inside and he made a face.

He made his way past tables and drunks towards the bar, where a large man was cleaning tankards.

"Excuse me," Janus got the man's attention once he reached the bar, "I'm looking for a place to stay the night."

The man grunted.

"Too late," he muttered, eyeing Janus up and down once before focusing on the tankards again.

"What do you mean 'too late'?" Janus frowned.

"No more free beds," the man grumbled. "You're too late."

Janus glanced towards the dirty windows out into the darkness.

"Isn't there anywhere else I could stay?"

The man shrugged.

"Stable," he finally answered. "It's warm and there's light."

Janus considered for a moment, mentally weighing sleeping outside like an outlaw against sleeping in a stable like an animal.

"Fine," he sighed. "Where can I find this stable?"

"Out the door, the first building left," the man gestured vaguely.

Janus huffed and marched back towards the door.

A table erupted in laughter, making him jump and glance over at the men.

They looked rough, most likely mercenaries.  
In the middle of the table, between empty pints a piece of cloth had been pinned to the table with a hunting knife. Janus caught a glimpse of letters on it.

He leaned closer to try and read it.

"Hey!" one of the men slammed his pint down as he noticed Janus. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?! Spying on us?!"

"I- No!" Janus held up his hands and backed away slightly, trying to appear smaller. "I was just leaving."

The man grunted, disappointed that he wouldn't get to fight anyone.

Janus almost ran out into the fresh air.

He'd probably be able to talk to them tomorrow, when they were sober and less likely to leave him dead in an unmarked grave somewhere.  
Yeah, he'd do that, he decided, thinking of the two words he'd managed to decipher in the darkness.

'Fae' and 'hunt'.

He untied his horse, led it to the stable and sat down in the stray. It pricked through his clothes and was too hard to be comfortable.

The stable was also cool, and he leaned against the horse for warmth, even if it smelled.

Janus sighed, accepting that he wouldn't get much sleep for the night and instead went through his bag for something to eat. 

The thought that he could've probably gotten something warm in the bar occurred to him, but he didn't want to go back there.  
Even from here he could hear the noise the drunk mean were making and he tried not to flinch when a window shattered.

He put a hand over his dagger and kept one eye on the door.


End file.
